Word of the Day

I wandered into the kitchen the other night and saw an apple on the counter. It had been sliced into 8 perfect pieces by a stainless steel apple corer. None of it had been eaten and the core stood upright in the middle, browning from neglect. My daughter walked out of her bedroom with her laptop in hand ready to do some research for her homework. I said, "Is that your Apple Cored?" She said, "I've told you a hundred time this is my apple cord." dangling her AC adapter for her computer. "Yours is longer," she said. I pointed toward the fruit on the counter. I think we laughed for ten minutes. Yes, the apple cored.

The techno digitalization language is ganging up on us and stealing our language and our spelling (who has time to type our the word "are" as in "how are you?") It is my job as founding mother of the Definition Protection League to speak up once again in defense of words and meaning. I use a dictionary as my shield.

As we progress into this unpredictable era of political insanity, climate instability I want to be intimate and respectful with words that have mattered to me very deeply. When I call their names they resonate clearly in mind, like a macintosh which is a kind of a tart crisp apple that grows on a tree and is harvested in the fall or a raincoat made of rubberized cloth.

Let's examine the phrase "I touch". At present this is a gadget with fancy screen that can download a bunch of aps and so on. But when I say "I touch" I mean; With my hand I reach out and feel you, pet my dog, embrace my wife, Hold my daughter's hand.

My cell is not the portable wireless phone that I carry.

My cell is the very smallest unit of living matter. All living things including plants and animals are made up of cells. The cell membrane contains cytoplasm and the nucleus. All humans start life with one cell and through mitosis cells divide and create the living organism. That makes the question, "Where's my cell?" much more interesting.

A web is something that is woven, usually by a spider. Or a liar " Oh what a tangled web we weave." A duck may have webbed feet as well. Some Indigenous natives believe the universe was woven by spiderwoman and we are connected through her web.

A net is a tool used to catch fish, butterflies or crazy people. Some people use one to keep their hair in place especially in the food service industry.

Windows are transparent and made of glass. One uses them to look outside. Whether in a house of a car windows allow you to see what's going on in the immediate world around you. Right now I'm looking out my window at the ocean, the Albion River and a whole lot of eucalyptus tress, red wood and conifers.

Safari is a trip that you go on, usually related to hunting for big game. Some just enjoy seeing the Lions, Elephants, giraffe's and so on and choose to shoot only photographs.

Yahoo! is a term that one uses when one is especially excited especially if you ride horses.

Googol spelled googol is a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros or 10 to the hundredth power.

Twitter and tweet are what birds do to talk lightly and rapidly, especially of trivial matters.

Blog, Skype, and Reddit are nonsense words

So at this time I want to encourage everyone to remain calm, not .com. Stay in touch with each other, reach out not just on face book, but call on a telephone, have lunch in a restaurant face to face. Then go to your library or local booksellers and get a good book to read. not a kindle(which means start a fire), not something that will no longer exist if if the satellite fails, or the government doesn't like you or mother nature unleashes her forces, that you will still be able to hold it in your hand and sit in the sunshine or by fire light and read.

Oh Yes, and the word of the day today, according to my calendar is "Aflattus" a noun A divine imparting of knowledge and inspiration. If you have a word that needs protection and to be put on the endangered definition list leave a comment here.

H2 uh O

After last weeks' snow blizzards, sky cracking thunder, wildly rowdy lightening and super full moon we have at last, crossed the threshold of Spring in Mendocino County. The equinox is upon us. Brrrr. Yes the day is lengthening, now in equality with the night. the sun is shining, but the forecast is wet, very wet and cold. The weather seems extreme, out of balance and the birds the last few days have been shouting at me on my daily walks.
"I hear you" I say. The earth is changing quickly. yes, We know it. Brilliant, shocking, terrible, dramatic unquestionably. This is it. Am I prepared for whatever is ahead and the answer is no. My family and I do not have an emergency plan. How to get back together should we have an earthquake or a monster Tsunami and the bridges go down? How many days supplies do we have? Don't know. Do you? If you do great, if not. It's time

I take these triple tragic events in Japan as a major wake up call and I am answering. I know you are too. So much fades in the shadow of these kinds of threats, but at the same time it is essential for me to keep a bright eye on the future. For my sake, my children and my grandchildren and my great grand children if you will.

I'm not trying to scare you. Fear can be very useful when there is something to truly be scared about, but we spend a good deal of time being afraid of what might happen. That can itself bring disaster and self fulfilling prophecy. It's alright to be scared. But don't make stuff up.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Check your immediate circumstances. How are you? How's your family. Do you have basic needs and services. Is there an imminent threat in your vicinity?
Yes, there is a real concern about a cloud of radiation descending over the west coast. How will we know? I mean it's invisible right?

Americans are hoarding Iodine and taking it as a precaution to radiation exposure. But wait, taking iodine randomly out of fear will make you sick, kind of like radiation poisoning. symptoms of iodine overdose from supplements or medications that exceed one gram can cause a burning sensation in the mouth, stomach and throat, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, weak pulse, diarrhea and coma. There is a simple test one can take to find our if your levels are normal. This is from Home test for iodine deficiency includes taking some iodine and a swab of cotton. You can find tincture iodine in a drugstore. Dip the cotton swab in the tincture iodine and paint a circle in the inner part of your upper arm or the thighs. Once you have done with that, wait for an hour. After an hour if you find that the circle has disappeared, it means that your body is deficient in iodine. However, on the other hand, if the circle remains as it is for at least four hours, it means that the iodine levels are fine. This is one of the easiest self test for iodine deficiency which you can use, but if you are still not sure, you can get a iodine deficiency test done in a laboratory.
Iodine levels are important nuclear fallout or not. Here's the good news:
One of our great local resources, seaweed is the natural food source for iodine. Local Harvesters are in the process of defending their rights to sustainably harvest now with the introduction of the MLPA (Marine Layer Protection Act) (listen to the Universal Perspective Archives for more info on that). These folks have spiritual,long term, respectful relations with our mama ocean and they have been standing up for all of us. There are three seaweed companies on the coast, rising Tide, Mendocino Seaweed Vegetable Co and Ocean Harvest. Each one has been inundated with orders for Wakame, Kombu, as a protection from and detox for radiation. Many of us have been eating sea veggies for years. Don't stop and make sure your kids munch on Sea Crunchies and Nori as often as you can. Little thyroids are most vulnerable to exposure.
We as a community have a real sensitivity to our environment. We know that our water, our air, and soil have been compromised sometimes to the point of toxicity. What can we do when the threats are invisible to the naked eye.
Prayer is strong, millions, even billions are praying right now and the Japanese are receiving and appreciating that.
Is that real action? I mean we can't see prayers, they are invisible. Well, radiation is invisible but it's real. Think of prayers the same way or even stronger. Direct them toward water. As Japanese Scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto has shown us in his studies and his book "Hidden messages in water" prayers for the water changes it's biochemistry, it's physical form . In experiment after experiment, He shows us water molecules respond beautifully to love, appreciation For my equinox ritual I walked in my backwoods and kneeled by the creek, did water prayers. rushing by so clearly and beautifully, thank you water, blessed water, holy water, knowing that this water is the water in the louisiana gulf, the Niger Delta, the Mekong river, the Tigris and Euphrates. And if our positive thoughts effect water that way, why not the air, the earth around us? Let us imagine it is true for all our elements and daily prayers of gratitude, peace, love, understanding, blessings will change molecules.
And you know how much we love this place and the people in it. I know everyone out there cares. Everyone within the sound of my voice cares. That really matters, literally.

See you on the Other Side

Watching and witnessing the devastation in Japan, after New Zealand a few weeks ago and Haiti, which still suffers unimaginable diseases and devastation, I cannot imagine how one goes about recovering and rebuilding. I have a hard enough time cleaning my house. Image after image over the Television and internet shows us that where there were once thriving towns and cities there is now rubble ,back to the beginning. Looking at similar images of Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq I am also left with the sentiment this is the epitome of a world war. War on the people, the trees, the ocean, the skies, the soil, the animals. This has nothing to do with borders and everything to do with life here on this earth. Mama has been very patient with us and even at this very moment. I can go out into my garden and pick some Kale and chard. The plum tree is in bloom and there crocuses and daffodils everywhere I look.

We have been long calling the violent conflicts on the earth, World Wars. There was I and then there was II. But, you know me and my passion for definitions. For in recorded time, I'm talking biblical, there has been one war after another, and a bunch of simultaneous ones as well. In reality what we had were many, many wars between people. A lot of people, but the world herself, stood idly by. She withstood the blasts of dynamite, the gun powder, the smart bombs, the stupid bombs the nuclear bombs, mining, oil drilling and spilling and the recent blowing up of her mountaintops with impunity. Now the time has come that the earth has begun to defend herself and the best way to do that is to undo us.

I have heard the earthquake Tsunami combination while practically destroying the north eastern coast Japan had the impact of several nuclear bombs NASA scientist Richard Gross reported that the earth’s rotation was also affected. Initial estimates show the rotation of the planet has shortened by approximately 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second), and also shifted Earth’s figure axis by about 6.5 inches. These are not time scales that would be noticeable by people but can be read by satellites, Gross told CBS News
The quake occurred as the Earth's crust ruptured along an area about 250 miles (400 kilometers) long by 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide, as tectonic plates slipped more than 18 meters, said Shengzao Chen, a USGS geophysicist.
What does this mean for us, for our seasons, our magnetic fields or gravitational pull? The intelligence and delicate perfection of this planet gave birth to life. Microscopic and magnificent elements conjoined to create a living system that with our own creative abilities have manifested both the beauty and the beast. But the violent and subtle changes, shifts in the weather, the chemistry, the temperature will undoubtedly lead to chaos and ultimately regeneration after we've blown our circuitry. As John Stewart said at the Rally to Restore Sanity. Time to Turn it down a notch.

There are many who are rejoicing that these are signs of the apocalypse. And there are many more who mourn and grieve the senseless behavior of those in power who for these many years have been ignoring and abusing the power and privilege of living on a planet such as ours. Forever she has provided us with the organic ingredients to create heaven on earth. To ease our existence to energize to accessorize, to gorge ourselves on the precious renewable resources that come with seeds, with cycles, but alas greed, the mortal sin we see has seized the day and practically rendered us powerless. But wait, with her cunning creativity and natural immune system Mama earth has a plan. A plan which preempts any fatal blows, because with a wave or a shake, eruption or flame she can disable any advanced, billion trillion dollar economy, weapons system or government. And if some of us survive we will be reduced to the simple form. The systems of bargaining trade and cooperation. Then rapture returns to it's true definition of beauty that we will be hold in the dark night, the quiet air when all the systems are washed away to sea and are nothing but a memory. So strap in, hang on to each other, it's going to be a wild ride. I hope I see you on the other side.